Paid in Blood
by Wiccamage
Summary: Ch 4! A debt must be paid and, unfortunately, Rogue is the chosen target. How will she and the X-Men cope after a brutal attack? Who will be able to help her reclaim herself and her lost powers? Deals with Rape. First chapter jumps right in to main conflict - skip to chapter 2 if squeamish... Rated M
1. Chapter 1

This is M rated for a reason. If you do not like any suggestions, ramifications or implications of RAPE, do not read.

This is one of my darker fics, but I personally think the plot makes up for the violence.

Also, this has been published (with ALL the graphic details) on under the same author and story title if you wish to read it as it was originally written. Again, VERY graphic on that site…

First chapter jumps right into the main conflict and hits with a bang from the beginning. Other missing pieces of the situation are explained later on in the form of flashbacks and dream/memories. Anything AFTER chapter one has very little sexual content (aside from recalling the events of the first chapter) but can be graphic with certain details at times.

I've tried to keep this version as toned-down as possible so FFN won't delete it from the system. Please let me know if you like/dislike or think I should remove it from this site. PLEASE Read and REVIEW!

Also, I had trouble trying to figure out how much to remove and was left wondering if there is still too much detail. Please let me know your thoughts.

Lastly, this story is in direct competition with my other ongoing fic – "Different Kind of Christmas" I figure whichever one is most popular will get updated the fastest.

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Between the crude dog collar around her neck and the leather shackles binding her arms behind her, there was no way she could fight against the behemoth mutant. She was well and truly caught and could see no solution to her grievous situation.

"Here girlie, girlie, girlie," Leviath called lecherously to her as he took a step closer.

Instead she backed away. "Get the fuck away from me you pus-faced ogre!"

"Uh, uh, uh," he chided as he snatched up the excess leash and yanked her to him. The momentum threw Rogue off balance and she crashed to her knees in front of him.

The massive man guffawed as Gaspion chuckled from the side lines. "My, my, aren't we eager?" he asked, amused at the prisoner's proximity to Leviath. "We'll just have to go ahead and oblige her, won't we Mr. L?"

The giant chortled in response and nodded vigorously as he pulled on the leash once more to show his pleasure.

"After all," continued Gaspion, "it's been so very long since Mr. L has been in the company of a lady."

Without another word, Gaspion motioned to his massive minion, who promptly yanked Rogue up by the leash and flung her over his back. She tried to kick and squirm, but with her hands tied at such an awkward angle, her meager strength was relatively useless.

They entered through a steel door near the back of the warehouse and, though Rogue couldn't see the contents thereof, she knew in her gut it couldn't be good.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she was unceremoniously dropped onto a large, musty-smelling mattress on the floor. She landed hard and, before she could catch her breath, the gargantuan mutant was crawling after her with a lustful, giddy look.

Rogue quickly lashed out with her boots and struck the man in the face, only to have him giggle and grab her ankles. He then pulled her toward the end of the bed with only her feet hanging off, before he jumped up again.

Instantly, Rogue tried to back away, but the ogre simply pounced upon her, trapping her under his weight.

"No, no, no, girlie!" He admonished playfully, then reached back and yanked off one of her boots. "Naughty, naughty, girlie. Leviath punish naughty girlie," he grinned. As he pulled at the other boot, Rogue felt something in her ankle pop and crunch painfully and she had to bite her lip to keep from calling out.

Her feet were trapped beneath his weight and with her hands tied behind her back, she couldn't even throw a measly punch. The drug Gaspion had injected her with was inhibiting her powers, which - all in all - left her completely defenseless.

"Get offa me!" she screamed, but instead Leviath frowned down at her and easily ripped away her shirt with his massive hands.

He got off the bed and before Rogue had time to react, he grasped what was left of her tattered uniform and yanked it off her, throwing the entire thing onto the floor.

Laying there in just her underwear and bra, Rogue was still somehow in denial about what was happening. She couldn't have been captured more than an hour ago. This was absolutely impossible - she was untouchable for Christ's sake!

Leviath grinned down at her lecherously and gripped Rogue's thighs, pulling her toward him. He then hooked his sausage-like fingers around the elastic waistband of her underwear and pulled. The sheer strength in his hands was enough to lift Rogue completely off the bed, but he still succeeded in removing the garment as it slipped off her legs and she went crashing back to the hard, lumpy mattress.

Momentarily dazed, she barely registered the sound of her bra straps being shredded before the cold air against her flesh brought her to her senses.

Even without the use of her hands, Rogue propelled herself backwards against the wall, trying to gain some distance between herself and the monster before her.

As the behemoth clamored toward her, she rolled off the mattress and landed painfully on her side. Within seconds, however, she launched herself into a standing position, only to be halted by the leash which was still attached to the dog collar around her neck.

The pressure against her windpipe caused her to choke and gag, and gave the monstrous man enough leeway to pick her up once again. Again, he tossed her over his shoulder with a laugh and held her with one hand while he used the other to loosen his belt – allowing his clothing to fall in a pool around his feet.

Staring down along his back, Rogue observed that he was not wearing underwear, but her position did not allow her to see much else. She felt him kneel on the bed and crawl to the middle, where he rolled onto his back. He grabbed Rogue around the waist with both hands and held her in the air a moment before placing her in a sitting position on his chest.

Grinning wildly, he brought his knees up to his chin and for a moment Rogue thought he meant to launch her against the wall. However, she felt his massive feet slide between her chest and her tied hands to snake up behind her back. As he let his legs come down toward the mattress once more, Rogue was dragged along as well.

Within seconds, she was trapped, lying along the giant's legs, completely unable to detach herself from his hold.

At that moment, Gaspion laughed from the corner. "He may not be very sophisticated, but he is very creative. And flexible, too."

He stepped closer to take a good look at Rogue's nude form. "He also has an eye for beautiful women. However, you'll have to forgive his crudeness – after all, he is a little different as you can tell. He really is just a big, lascivious brute." Gaspion walked around the bed, inspecting the scene before him. The way he seemed to be calculating the situation made Rogue's stomach turn.

Really, Leviath didn't seem to be that much of a threat. But the monster appeared to idolize Gaspion, and the other man's presence was far more terrifying than Rogue's current state of undress. Before she had realized Gaspion was still in the room, she hadn't felt the urgency or terror of her situation. But now… Now the realization of what could, and likely WOULD happen was making her stomach do back flips.

"What the hell do you want with me?!" Rogue screamed as she tried to loosen her hands.

Gaspion simply smiled. "Oh my dear, it's really not about what I want with you – it's about what I'm going to get FROM you."

Turning, he faced the wall as Leviath raised his feet, and Rogue by default, and placed them high up against the wall. With her arms trapped between his feet, it caused Rogue to lie at an inclined angle against his legs.

"You see," Gaspion continued, "I'm getting my revenge after such a very long time. You needn't trouble yourself with the details of who or what, but rest assured that you are serving a much higher purpose. For me, this isn't about pleasure. It's about power."

He turned back to face Rogue, who hadn't taken her eyes from him. "For him, on the other hand," he gestured to Leviath who laid there looking at Rogue with a happy, anticipatory grin, "it's completely about pleasure…"

XXX

Rogue didn't know how long she had been floating there in the absence of time and space, but a splash of frigid water eventually ripped her out of the peaceful blackness.

As her eyes cracked open, the Southerner slowly recognized that she was still lying naked on the mattress. She didn't try to move – didn't even know if she could – but Gaspion must have known she was conscious again because he was suddenly in front of her, yanking her up by the hair to meet his gaze.

He stared at her a moment with frightening intensity, then grinned.

"Tell Logan we're even. I hope she was worth it," and he forced his lips against hers. For a brief moment, Rogue could feel a slight pull of her powers and she wished they would suck the very life out of him. Her power was becoming stronger as it tugged at Gaspion's essence until she felt another sharp jab in the back of her neck, followed by a sensation of liquid fire coursing through her blood.

Her lips were still crushed against Gaspion's and she moaned as the fire raged inside and her powers suddenly cut short again.

With a muttered chuckle, Gaspion dropped her back on the mattress and Rogue watched in a haze as he and Leviath exited the room, leaving her in the darkness.

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	2. Chapter 2 - In the Beginning

As I tried to mention in Chapter 1, this has also been published on . Hope chapter one wasn't too graphic. If there are enough people (5ish?) who think it was, let me know which parts you believe I should remove.

Chapter 2 is a quick flashback to how Rogue was taken (a portion of it, at least) as well as the team's recovery efforts.

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It had been hours – four hours, twenty-two minutes, and thirty-eight, no thirty-nine seconds– since witnesses had watched Rogue get shoved into a white van by two men.

The two were out to do some holiday shopping. Rogue hadn't wanted to go, but Kitty had whined and begged until the older girl gave in. They were just getting into the car to leave when they'd been jumped.

Kitty had woken up on the ground with a crowd of people surrounding her. She was told the paramedics had been and an officer was on his way from inside the mall.

"What, what happened?" Kitty asked as she grabbed her head and tried to sit up. Many gentle hands guided her to a sitting position and kept the disoriented girl from toppling over again.

"You've got a head injury, miss. Try to keep still," an unfamiliar male voice spoke softly to her as she tried to pinpoint the source. "What's your name?"

"Sha – uh, Kitty," she responded almost automatically. Feeling the back of her head, Kitty groaned as she reached the tender area. "Did I fall?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Some men tried to kidnap you!" an elderly woman called from near the back of the crowd. "I saw the whole thing! He jumped out and hit you on the head while the big one grabbed your friend."

Kitty's eyes widened, "Oh my gosh, Rogue! Where is she? Is she okay?!" The young brunette tried to jump up to find her teammate, but the hands from the crowd coaxed her back down quickly.

"Whoa, calm down. You could have serious trauma," the soft male voice coaxed again. "Do you have anyone you can call?"

Momentarily overcome with vertigo, Kitty nodded slightly. "My, my phone." It was quickly retrieved from her purse (which was, surprisingly, still nearby) and handed to the male voice, which turned out to be the police officer. "Logan." She muttered as she tried to make the world stop spinning.

Kitty closed her eyes and leaned against a tire as she listened to the officer talk to Logan.

"Hello, is this Logan?" Kitty could only imagine Wolverine's gruff voice on the other end of the line.

"This is Officer Lillenquist with-…"

"No sir. Sir, sir, SIR!" The officer was obviously having a hard time getting Logan to listen.

"I'm here with Ms. Pryde now, sir. She was attacked in the parking lot and sustained a head injury. The paramedics will be here shortly."

Her dizzy spell subdued, Kitty was now gazing up at the officer as he spoke with Logan. Noting that the young girl was staring intently at him, he turned away and spoke in hushed tones.

"We don't know sir. No sir. There's no sign of the other girl. We have more officers on their way. We've already filed an APB for her. Yes. Yes, of course sir."

The officer took a deep breath and turned back around with a forced smile. "Your …friend … will be here soon." Nearby Kitty could hear sirens coming closer. "It sounds like the paramedics are close," Officer Lillenquist stated. "We'll have them check your injuries and either take you straight to the hospital or wait for your friend Logan to get here."

The paramedics were checking over Kitty's head and vision in the far end of the parking lot when the X-Men arrived a few minutes later.

The officer was still waiting with Kitty when the team came running over. Storm hugged the girl, relieved, while Logan marched up to Lillenquist to get the full story.

As Officer Lillenquist relayed the situation, they discovered that an elderly woman had seen two men jump out and attack both girls. According to the witness, a tall, thin man had surprised Kitty from behind and knocked her over the head with a crowbar. Another much larger man had jumped out of a white van parked next to their vehicle and grabbed her friend before jumping back inside the vehicle. When the two men heard the old lady yelling for help, they abandoned the little one and drove off.

Officer Lillenquist postulated that Kitty had been left behind because she was too far from the van to load quickly. He claimed that it had been a lucky break for her, but all Kitty could think about was Rogue.

Thankfully, the paramedics declared she only had a mild concussion and would only need to be hospitalized overnight for observation. However, when Logan explained that they had a medical doctor on staff at the school, the EMT's left with a signed waiver of liability.

Most of the parking lot had been cordoned off with police tape, so checking for clues was off the table for now. Instead the team headed home to check with Cerebro and the Professor. And, although Kitty was ordered straight to bed, she spent most of the following three hours hacking into security cameras in the surrounding areas.

XXX

The X-Men had no luck finding Rogue with Cerebro; likewise, they could not reach the Professor despite Logan's constant, furious attempts. Using a few security cameras, Kitty had managed to track the vehicle to the far side of town near the docks. Nightcrawler was left at the mansion to tend to Kitty while the rest of the team searched all the buildings in the surrounding area. As they left the mansion, Jean managed to pick up a tiny blip from Rogue, as if she had managed to brush against someone for a brief moment. Although Jean couldn't get a full reading of Rogue's exact location, it was a sign that they were on the right track.

Scott guided the X-Jet over yet another building as Wolverine, Storm, Iceman and Beast searched inside. As an empty crate crashed through a window and exploded against the pavement, even Cyclops and Jean could tell from the cockpit that Wolverine was having no luck finding their missing teammate.

"Wolverine," Jean spoke calmly into her headset as she sat in the copilot's seat and looked down toward the building. "If you continue on like this, someone's going to call the police and we'll have to abandon our only lead."

On the other end of the microphone, she could hear Wolverine growl and retract his claws. "I know red, I know. I'm sure it's the damn MRD's. They've got to have a base out here somewhere, but I can't even get a whiff of 'em. This place should reek of those bigots."

Scott sighed into the microphone. "We don't know it was the MRD, Logan. It could have been Magneto."

"Or Sinister," Beast chimed in.

"You have a history with Weapon X, do you not?" Storm asked.

"And the Reavers," Iceman joined from the far end of the building.

Jean nodded from the cockpit. "There's the Hellfire Club, too."

"Mojo," Cyclops added.

"Mystique!" Iceman yelled.

"Nah, Mystique usually works alone, and she really doesn't have a beef with us right now," Wolverine deduced.

"No!" Iceman called into the headset, "It's Mystique. She's HERE!"

From the plane, Cyclops and Jean glanced toward Iceman's location only to see Mystique slowly approaching the young man.

Wolverine and those on the ground quickly joined the young man as Mystique stopped about 10 yards away from the group.

The X-Men were clustered together in defensive stances as Mystique held her hands in the air as a sign of peace. In one hand she held a single piece of paper.

"Mystique," Wolverine growled, "You behind Rogue's disappearance?"

"No," Mystique answered quietly. "I had no idea she was even missing until I got a call from my friend Destiny. She informed me that Rogue had been taken and that it was absolutely essential that the X-Men find her immediately."

"Why the urgency?" Beast questioned. "What will happen if we do not find her?" Storm and Wolverine shared an uneasy glance as they awaited an answer.

"Destiny is a precog. She sees the future. If you don't find Rogue – and soon – someone else, someone much worse will and it could lead to an Apocalypse unlike any other." Mystique was growing anxious as she fiddled with the paper in her hands.

"I've got the map of her location here. Destiny was able to scribble it out before she sent me to find you. It's an aerial view." Keeping her head down, she was getting very antsy as she anxiously waited for Logan to take the parchment.

"And why should we trust you?" Wolverine asked. "How do we know it isn't a trap?"

By now the two were only feet away from each other and Mystique suddenly looked up and met Wolverine's eyes.

The rough Canadian was shocked to see light tears glistening in the woman's eyes.

"Please," Mystique whispered, "Please just trust me James. Just trust me and FIND HER before it gets any worse…"

With that, she gently stuffed the paper into Wolverine's stunned palm and turned to leave. As she did, however, she touched her temple gently and paused, looking up at the plane. Then she quickly transformed into a raven and flew off into the dusk.

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PLEASE Read and Review. Again, this story IS contending for my time with one of my other fics. The one with the most reviews gets updated the fastest!

Love & Light,

Wiccamage


	3. Chapter 3

Posting the most climactic parts of the story first. This should be the last chapter I post for a while, however (at least until I can gauge it's welcome). If you'd like to see it continue to the good stuff (where Rogue deals with recovering), please review!

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"Well," Bobby cleared his throat. "That was … weird."

Wolverine was unfolding the paper when Jean's voice came through the intercom to the others. "Seven buildings North and three to the East," she called out. "Mystique sent me the visual telepathically."

"Checks out," Wolverine confirmed as he studied the crude map and their surroundings. "Let's go." He broke into a run with the others on his heels.

As they headed for the building, the X-Jet zoomed overhead and landed about fifty yards from the building.

"Jean," Wolverine yelled into his headset, "What 're you doing?! We ain't plannin' on hangin' around!"

"_Logan," _Jean spoke to him, Storm and Beast telepathically. _ "Mystique … told me what Destiny saw in her vision. She didn't say anything before because she didn't think Bobby and Kitty should hear it. Destiny didn't see who the men were, but she saw what they …did to her." _Jean's voice broke with unshed tears.

"_Jean?"_ Wolverine demanded back.

"_Just – just keep Bobby out of the warehouse, okay. I'm getting a stretcher and some blankets ready. Scott's going to stay here with the plane and keep it running."_

"_Jean!"_ Wolverine mentally shouted at the red head.

"_Storm and I – we should go in first, in case she's awake. You and Beast should probably wait outside._"

"_T' hell with that, Red. I can heal her. I ain't stayin' outside with the pup."_ They were close now. Wolverine could see Jean as she wheeled the blanket-covered stretcher out of the plane and toward the front doors.

"_You can't,_" Jeanspoke to the group again. _"Mystique said that Destiny saw Rogue get injected with something that removed her powers, but she didn't know if it was temporary or not. She just knew that in one vision she saw you touch her and nothing happened."_

"_I STILL ain't waitin' outside!"_ And with a violence the others had never seen in him, Logan finally reached the large steel doors and slashed away at them until there was very little left of the entrance.

"Logan, stop this!" Storm chided. "You'll frighten her!"

"ROGUE!" Wolverine yelled as he stepped over the rubble."Rogue it's us! Where are you darlin'?" As the leader of the X-Men darted into the large warehouse, he was overcome with a torrent of atrocious odors and he bent over, coughing and gagging.

The others entered as Iceman stood watch outside and they instantly covered their faces.

"Goddess!" Storm exclaimed, "What IS that?"

Beast tried not to gag as he quickly tied a cloth around his nose and mouth. "Ach! It… it seems to be a mixture of human waste and other fluids, but it's old - ripe with bacteria."

"There's blood, too. Fresh. Real fresh," Logan commented as he tied a bandana around his nose too. "ROGUE! Where are you?!"

Jean touched her forehead as Wolverine took a whiff and coughed again. "This way!" she called, heading for the far end of the warehouse. "I can sense someone!"

Together the four X-Men ran toward the end of the warehouse with Jean and Beast pulling the stretcher. As they approached a small room tucked away in the back corner, Wolverine stopped.

"She's here," he whispered. With held breath, he turned the handle on the door. With a deafening creak, the door slowly swung open, allowing a sliver of light to enter the room and illuminate a shabby, blood stained mattress in the center of the room.

"Rogue," Wolverine called quietly, but as he saw the huddled figure shrouded in darkness in the far corner, he ran over. "Rogue!?"

Kneeling down, his hand found her neck and felt for a pulse. "She's alive, barely." Removing both gloves, he placed his hands on her naked shoulders. No one moved as they waited silently for her powers to kick in.

"It's not – I can't…" Wolverine started, but he was suddenly overcome with the smells, his emotions, or both, and without warning bolted from the building.

"Wolverine!" Jean called after him.

"Jean," Storm cautioned quietly, "Let him be." Although her heels should have clicked and echoed on the concrete floor, Storm entered silently and scanned the room, taking note of the mattress and distinct lack of other objects in the room.

She found the girl in the far corner and carefully approached. "Rogue…?" the weather witch whispered. "Rogue, it's us – the X-Men. We are here child." She knelt down next to her teammate and gently peeled some of the girl's hair away from her face.

"Jean, a blanket please," Storm called to her friend, who was frozen in the doorway. "Beast, I need a knife and a neck brace please."

Beast quickly dug into the large first aid kit as Jean draped the blanket over Rogue's nude form. The furry doctor rushed the items over.

"Here," he handed Storm the knife as he did a visual check of the girl's wounds. He observed the angry red splotching across her left eye and cheek, as well as her slightly split lip. Her shoulders were both dark purple around the sockets and were hanging back at such an awkward angle that he knew they were dislocated, if not shattered.

Swallowing hard, he noted the prominent imprints of large, fat fingers along Rogue's collar bone and chest before they disappeared beneath the fresh blue cotton blanket. He watched silently as Storm cut a crude leather dog collar off the girl's neck and Jean instinctively reached to her temples to unlatch the cuffs around her wrists.

Beast leaned forward to get a closer look at the welts around Rogue's neck, but he was startled to find her eyes were slightly open.

"Rogue," he called to her softly, "Rogue can you hear me?" He snapped his fingers close to her face but received no response. "Rogue? We are here to take you home. Can you speak? Can you move?"

Still no response.

"She appears to be catatonic - severe shock. We need to get her home quickly." With extremely delicate fingers, he slowly latched the brace around her neck. "Jean, can you depress the gurney and place it behind her?"

Jean did so quickly and once the portable bed was in place, Beast tried to speak to Rogue once more. "Rogue, we need to roll you back onto the gurney. Your shoulders are dislocated and this might be painful. Do you understand?"

Nothing.

Beast sighed before motioning to Storm and Jean. "Her arms are still at a very awkward angle. It's going to be difficult to move her without causing pain." He repositioned himself near her head, "Storm, I'll need you to slide the gurney under her as we lie her back."

The three X-Men were solemn as they positioned themselves quickly. Jean's eyes shone with unshed tears while Storm tried to remain stoic and focused on helping her friend. Outside, however, dark clouds were moving in and a light smattering of rain began drumming against the roof.

"Jean," Beast spoke again as Storm readied herself on the other side of the gurney at Rogue's back. "I need you to use your powers to stabilize her head, neck and shoulders as much as possible while I lift her."

Jean nodded, and her voice was raw as she responded, "I can lift her telekinetically; just rotate her in the air."

Beast smiled kindly, but shook his head. "I know. However, I'm more concerned about keeping her stable. I need your full concentration on making sure her head and neck do NOT move."

Jean nodded again and remained silent as she placed her hands to her temples.

"On three," Beast commanded.

They counted together in almost a whisper, the gravity of the situation having fully set in as they worked to extract their nonresponsive teammate from the nightmare she had endured.

Rogue's eyes were still slightly open, staring out into nothingness as she locked herself away inside her own mind. Her friends might have thought her dead if it hadn't been for the slow rise and fall of her chest as her lungs continued to function even though she herself could not.

As Beast picked her up from under her shoulders, they were all startled by the small whimper of pain that was wrenched from her pale, chaffing lips.

"Rogue?" Beast questioned as her eyes closed for a brief moment, inhaling sharply as her arms were slowly bent back to their proper position. She finally lost consciousness completely as Beast set her down fully on the gurney.

"Rogue!" Jean cried as she felt the younger X-Man succumb to the blackness.

"She's alright," Beast reassured the redhead. His fingers were braced against the girl's neck, reassured by the thready thump of her pulse against his furry digits.

"Let's move, QUICKLY." Together, they lifted the gurney back to its full height and began rushing the cart out the door. "Tell Bobby to get some extra blankets and ask Scott to find the oxygen mask and tank!" Beast called to Jean over the clatter of the wheels against the uneven concrete as the sounds bounced and echoed throughout the large warehouse.

"Hank?" Storm questioned, her eyes darkening as a bolt of lightning struck a nearby roof.

"Her breathing is too shallow; she just needs a little assistance." He reassured the two women with a small smile. "She'll be okay."

Inwardly, however, he knew it wasn't really that simple.

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	4. Chapter 4

It seemed Scott piloted the blackbird back home in record time, taking only 5 minutes to return from what had been a 20 minute flight out to the docks.

They had left Wolverine behind, however, with Cyclops already retracting the gangplank the second the rest of the team entered the plane. The young man muttered that he would return for their leader once Rogue was home safe, but no one really expected it, nor was it a real concern at the moment.

They had rushed Rogue down to the Med Bay where Hank quickly ushered everyone except Jean from the room, asking only that Storm and Nightcrawler keep the younger members out of the area and be available if needed.

Rogue slept quietly on a gurney placed in the middle of the room. Over her nose and mouth was an oxygen mask, and she had several IV's and wires poking out from her arms and chest. A tray of surgical equipment rested on a sterile metal tray next to the foot of the bed and a large, bendable light was positioned against the wall closest to her feet.

The room was filled with monitors and other equipment, all beeping and humming along as Rogue lay nestled in the sheets, oblivious to it all.

With the help of the telepath and some powerful sedatives, Beast was able to reset Rogue's shoulders and fix up all her other cuts, bruises and sprains before reluctantly tackling the SAE kit.

Tears moistened the doctor's fur as he swabbed and probed and extracted samples. Jean was attempting to take photographic evidence for the local police department (not that THEY would be much help) so there would be a firm case against the men who had done this. For such reasons, Beast also insisted they record everything via video feed so there would be no possible way for a jury to dismiss any future case (provided any defendants actually LIVED long enough to be prosecuted).

"Second degree…" he cleared his throat, "second degree perineal tear, cervical lacerations and bruising, along with rupture of the ..." Jean tried to block out his observations as he spoke up for the video feed and continued ticking off various injuries before detailing his procedures for cleaning and repairing the wounds.

"Jean," Dr. McCoy called hoarsely as he sat up from behind the privacy sheet draped over Rogue's bent legs.

The redhead wiped away her own tears as she approached the large blue mutant.

"My, my hands are too big," he tried to explain as he looked down at the needle and sutures. "Can you…?"

Jean's voice was shaky as she placed the camera down on the counter near the door and she took deep breaths as she approached. "I… I think so."

With Dr. McCoy's instruction, she threaded the needle and bent down below the sheet. The large light was already adjusted and there were numerous retractors attached to the healthy skin, illuminating the full extent of Rogue's injuries.

Having already seen some of the images exuding from Hank's mind, Jean THOUGHT she was prepared for what she was about to see. She was, however, terribly wrong.

"Oh god!" she suddenly turned away, barely keeping her lunch where it belonged.

"Jean," Beast began calmly, "you absolutely cannot be sick in here. If you cannot do this, please leave before you contaminate the operating room."

"No, no," Jean reassured him as she steeled herself once more. "I can; I've got it under control." With a deep breath, she gingerly sat once more on the hard plastic swivel stool. It felt hard, cold and impersonal – much like the rest of the makeshift operating room.

She hazarded another look and was somewhat relieved that the nausea had subsided. What she didn't expect, however, was to find her hands trembling uncontrollably. With another steadying breath, she tried to control the tremors as she reached to make her first suture.

As the needle descended on the torn and bleeding tissue, however, she suddenly stopped, unable to quit shaking both physically and telekinetically.

"I… I'm sorry. I can't… Oh god, Hank!" She broke down in tears, sobbing almost uncontrollably as she set down the needle and exited the room quickly.

As Jean left, Ororo stepped in from the doorway.

"I have already washed properly," the weather witch explained. "I could feel Jean projecting her emotions and thought my assistance may be needed."

"Storm I'm not sure…" Beast started.

The weather witch had already entered, however, and was putting on a mask and gloves. "In Africa I served as a healer. I cannot count the number of women I had to piece back together due to mutilation and sexual abuse."

She gave the blue doctor a small, reassuring smile as she picked up the needle from the surgical tray. "I will be fine my friend."

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From her bed, Kitty watched out the window as rain slowly and steadily continued to spatter against the brick building. It was only seven o'clock in the middle of June, but the dark clouds outside made it seem more like midnight.

With a sigh, Kitty clicked away at her laptop as she tried desperately to find more clues about the men who had attacked her and Rogue at the mall. Only three people had seen Rogue since Dr. McCoy rushed her to the Med Bay and Jean had raced up to her room about two hours ago. Without a word, she'd locked herself away from everyone – even Scott (although he had eventually just broken down the door).

Ororo and Hank were downstairs with Rogue, presumably still fixing her up. No one had told them about the extent of their teammate's injuries, but judging by Jean's reaction, it definitely wasn't good. The weeping storm outside was further proof of that.

A sudden crack of thunder and lightning caused Kitty to jump and nearly drop her laptop off the bed. The lights flickered once before plunging the room into semi-darkness. The only light remaining was the ghostly blue glow of her small laptop.

As she readjusted herself, another bolt of lightning and crack of thunder raged outside. Nervously, Kitty swallowed and considered getting out of bed to check on her friend Storm.

There was a knock at the door at that moment, however, stopping Kitty from any such action. The door creaked open and a pair of yellow, glowing eyes peered into her room.

"Are you alvight Fraulein?" Kurt Wagner called as he entered.

"Yah, just fine Nightcrawler." Kitty called back. "Any word from Beast yet?"

"Nein," he sighed as he came to sit on the edge of the bed near the young girl. "Scott vas finally able to get Jean to rest but only said she vas deeply troubled."

The lights suddenly flickered back to life as the generator finally kicked on. As they did, they heard a clicking of women's heels against the hardwood floor and the two looked toward Kitty's open door to see Storm flashing by.

"Storm!" Kitty called to their friend, "Ororo, wait!" The petite brunette attempted to climb from her bed before Kurt gently forced her to recline again.

"I will be right back _mein freund_ (my friend)," he replied before porting out.

Kitty coughed and waved away the smoke. "Man, I hate being stuck here!" she pouted.

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"Storm," Kurt called as he ported in just behind the weather witch's quickly retreating form. "Ororo, wait, _bitte_ (please)!"

As Storm whipped around to face her friend, another bolt of lightning struck a tree just outside the house and Kurt turned to see one of the massive oak trees splinter and ignite before the rain quickly doused the flames.

With barely controlled emotion, Ororo Munro tried to keep from snarling at her teammate. "I need to be alone right now Kurt. I must reign in this weather before it becomes a hurricane and I do not wish to be disturbed unless it is an emergency. Hank will speak with everyone soon. In the meantime, I do not recommend going outside."

With that, she turned swiftly on her heel and retreated to her loft.

With a sigh, Kurt turned and made his way slowly back down the hall to report to Kitty, all the while hoping Beast wouldn't be too much longer.

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Thirty minutes later, Henry McCoy had finally made his way up to check on his other patient and her concussion. Kitty, however, refused to let the good doctor anywhere near her until she knew more about Rogue's condition. At that point, the furry blue mutant reluctantly gave in and called the few remaining team members into the girls' room.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for them to assemble as everyone was already eavesdropping outside the door.

"I…" Beast began slowly, trying to find the best way to break the news without revealing too many private details. He looked up at the four young X-Men who had gathered to hear about their friend.

"Jean, Storm and I were able to get all of Rogue's wounds cleaned and dressed without complications. She has numerous injuries including two dislocated shoulders, a few broken ribs, and a severe concussion, among other things. Surgery was required to stop some bleeding, but I do not foresee any future complications with any of her injuries."

Beast took a deep breath and removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve some of the strain. Exhaling slowly, he leaned heavily against Kitty's chest of drawers before going on.

"She was injected with something – I'm not sure what – and I've collected samples of her blood to analyze the compound – but it has… repressed her powers. I'm not sure how long it will last, nor the complications thereof, but I am sending slides and smears to every major lab and scientist in the world. I'm hoping Dr. Moira McTaggart…"

Kitty suddenly cut in, "The famous geneticist on Muir Island?"

Hank nodded. "I'm hoping she can help us shed some light on this chemical and assist with a possible cure."

"Possible…" Scott noted, his expression and voice dark.

"As I do not know what Rogue was injected with, I am not sure if the effects are permanent or not."

"Can she tell us? Has she voken up yet?" Kurt asked anxiously from his perch on Kitty's footboard.

"She was almost completely catatonic when we found her. We've sedated her with a gaseous anesthesia, but I am almost fearful of using any other drugs as I do not know how they will react with the foreign compound."

With another deep sigh, Dr. McCoy strode slowly to the window to peer out at the wildly raging storm outside.

"Wh…when…" Bobby stuttered slightly as he finally spoke up. "When will she wake up?"

"Once she is no longer under the anesthesia? That I do not know." The doctor continued to sullenly watch numerous bolts of lightning dance across the sky. "Rogue has been through something very traumatic and it will likely take her body and mind a very long time to heal."

"But once her powers return, she can just absorb Wolverine's healing ability," Scott suggested confidently. "And Jean can help block out all of her worst memories."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Yes," Beast agreed, "it will ultimately be up to Rogue to decide how to proceed. However, we cannot ignore what has been done and we can never truly erase the past, no matter how much we wish it."

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	5. Chapter 5 - Aftermath

Four days later, Rogue still had not awoken. She had been moved to the recovery area of the Med Bay where at six beds (five empty) lined either side of the walls and there was at least SOME color.

She still had an IV for fluids, mild painkillers, and antibiotics, but she no longer required blood transfusions or oxygen. The six remaining X-Men took turns keeping a bedside watch while the others worked tirelessly to find any clues regarding her assailants.

There was still no sign of Wolverine, and the Professor had yet to make contact despite many desperate attempts on Jean's part.

The local police department had visited to gather the (duplicate) evidence collected by the X-Men so they could continue their own investigation, but it seemed no one was any closer to solving the mysteries of who or why…

Finally, nearly a week after the initial attack, Rogue began to stir in her sleep. Bobby was sitting at her bedside silently playing his Ninetendo DS when he thought he heard a slight whimper.

His head shot up, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Rogue's eyes were closed, her breathing even, and she lay as still as ever. Putting his game down on the pseudo nightstand, he sat upright, trying to discern if he had indeed heard something.

At first, he watched as the monitors and computers beeped on as before and began to think it was just his imagination.

"Huh." He shrugged his shoulders and reached for his video game again until he finally noticed that Rogue was now staring right at him.

"Holy SH-! The young blonde fell backward over his chair, hitting his head on the small bed next to hers. He scrambled quickly to his feet only to find that her head was now turned away from him.

"R-Rogue," he stammered nervously. "Are … Are you awake?" He cautiously made his way around to the other side of the bed, keeping a fair bit of distance between himself and the bed. "Can you hear me?"

Licking his lips, he crept ever closer trying to see if her eyes were indeed open. Finally, as he leaned a bit farther toward the right side of the bed, he could see that she was in fact, awake and staring at one of the monitors.

Slowly he walked backwards toward the door before tripping over his chair again and falling to the floor once more.

The noise didn't seem to faze the girl in the least, however, because she remained just as motionless as before.

"BEAST!" Bobby yelled at the top of his voice as he vaulted from the room, tripping over his own feet at least three times before finally making it out the door.

Within moments Dr. McCoy entered with Storm and Jean in tow. Kitty, Kurt, Bobby and Scott were again left outside the room to wait and worry while the others checked on Rogue.

Quietly and carefully, Beast approached the girl's bed. She was still facing away from the doors, supposedly staring at a monitor as Bobby had described.

"Rogue," he called to her as Jean and Storm stood near. "Rogue, can you hear me? It's Henry McCoy – Beast? Can you respond?"

He looked up at the two women with worry in his eyes and slowly crept closer to the bed. "Rogue?" He tried again to get her attention as he finally rounded the foot of the bed and was able to see her staring out across the room. "Rogue? You've been through a very traumatic ordeal and…" Dr. McCoy slowly reached out and touched the girl's bare arm.

And all hell broke loose…

"_**DON'T TOUCH ME!"**_

Rogue suddenly screamed at the top of her hoarse, raspy voice and shot from the bed, yanking out IV's and dislodging every device that had been attached to her small frame. Toppling over on the floor, she clambered back into the corner between her bed and the empty one on the left, using Bobby's still overturned chair as a makeshift shield.

Dr. McCoy jumped back in alarm and raised both hands above his head. He could see the wild, terrified look in her eyes, and with her dirty, disheveled hair she looked as if she may do serious harm to herself or anyone else who came near.

Storm quickly came forward and stood directly in front of Beast, silently waving him out of the room. As he left, Rogue's eyes darted from him to Jean and back to Storm.

"Jean, perhaps it is best if you leave as well," the weather witch calmly and quietly suggested.

"I can just go into her mind, calm her…"

"No. She just needs a moment. Please, go." Storm never took her eyes from Rogue's face as the frightened girl looked rapidly from one woman to the next.

When Jean had finally left the room, Storm knelt down and took infinitesimally small movements closer to Rogue. She did not want to appear to be looming over the girl by standing, but she also wanted to keep eye contact. As she moved, the weather witch continued to speak slowly and softly to her teammate, commenting on the tumultuous weather and mentioning Rogue's favorite books and pastimes. She spoke of Danger Room sessions with the other X-Men and the tricks Bobby and Kitty played on each other.

She was very careful to only mention the people and times that Rogue would remember fondly and that had no association with the pain or fear of being attacked. After a long while Storm was able to sit on the floor a few feet away without Rogue reacting negatively, and the girl's breathing had finally stabilized.

Noting the blood soaking through the hospital gown and pooling on the floor, Storm knew she would need to get Rogue calm and secure enough that she would be able to reclose her wounds quickly.

"Rogue," Ororo began gently as she inched forward. "I know you have been through something traumatic. Something no one should have to go through." She crept forward another inch, never letting her eyes leave Rogue's.

"I know that you are scared and in a great deal of pain, but I need you to trust me. I will not harm you. I am your friend and will make sure no one else harms you." She was only two feet away now, trying to maneuver around the chair Rogue had used as a barrier.

"You know me. You know you can trust me." Storm tried to make her whole demeanor seem as warm and inviting as possible as she spoke to the young woman. Finally, she reached out, just slightly away from her body and was relieved to see that Rogue did not flinch away from her outstretched hand.

"Please, my friend," Storm pleaded quietly. "Let me help you." She watched as Rogue swallowed hard and took a deep breath, closing her eyes tightly as she slowly moved a trembling hand to rest on top of Storm's.

With a relieved sigh and a smile, Ororo carefully moved farther forward until she was able to kneel next to her friend and slowly put her other hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Rogue, you are wounded. Will you allow me to help you up so I can stop the bleeding?"

Silently and without lifting her eyes, Rogue nodded.

"Good. I am going to pick you up now. I will put one arm behind your back and one arm under your knees. Do you understand?" The weather witch spoke slowly and softly, trying to keep the girl calm.

Rogue nodded again, but said nothing. She tensed slightly when Ororo's arms snaked around her, but she did not shy away.

"I am going to lift you up and place you back on the bed." It was a lot like speaking to very small child, or an adult who was extremely drunk and beyond reason, but Ororo knew that the debilitating fear Rogue was experiencing left her in just such a state.

A small whimper and squeak of pain was all Rogue uttered as Storm easily picked her friend up and placed her back on the bed. Telepathically, she summoned Jean in as she explained the situation to Rogue.

"Rogue, I have asked Jean to join me. We need to take you over to the other room so we can close your wounds. Would you prefer if we put you to sleep so we can stitch you back up?"

Rogue shook her head violently to express that she did NOT want to go back to sleep and barely registered Jean's entrance into the room as the redhead stood at the foot of the bed.

"Alright. We will have to give you a localized anesthetic then – a shot – to numb away any pain," Storm began unlatching the locks on the bed's wheels with her foot as she and Jean wheeled the cart out of the recovery room and into the surgical room.

"Do you understand where you are wounded? Are you sure you do not want to be sedated?" Storm waited compassionately for a reply, but instead watched as the once strong-willed, tough as nails woman simply swallowed, nodded and tried to control her quivering chin.

Per Storm's telepathic request, the Med Bay had been completely cleared of all other people and Jean and Storm quickly set to work with the shots and sutures that were needed.

All the while Rogue lay quietly, staring out into space and trying to keep her mind from replaying all the horrendous things that had happened to her.

Nearly an hour later, Storm gently unfolded Rogue's legs from the stirrups and she and Jean helped her move back onto the bed.

"We need to get you washed up before we put on fresh bandages," Storm noted quietly. "Would you like me to get a sponge, or do you wish to try a shower?"

Without saying a word, Rogue let her arm flop toward the direction of the door, indicating she would prefer a proper bath. Storm simply nodded and motioned for Jean to get a wheelchair.

A special, donut-shaped pillow was placed on the seat and Jean was able to telekinetically ease Rogue into the chair with Storm providing a shoulder for the young woman to hold on to. It was, however, more for moral and emotional support than physical necessity.

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Despite being aided by the two women and forced to stay in the wheelchair, Rogue found that the shower helped tremendously in clearing her mind of the absolute terror that had encompassed her earlier. After 5 minutes under the nearly scalding spray of the shower head, she had finally stopped trembling.

Jean and Storm assisted with washing her hair before it came to the actual scrubbing with soap and washcloth. Sadly, the hot water and enveloping heat were still not enough to ease her trepidation about being touched in such an intimate way.

Even without telepathy, Storm could sense her friend's wariness when she brought out the soap and washcloth. She gently placed the lathered up cloth in Rogue's hand and silently guided the girl in helping her wash her own body.

There were a few tricky spots – the back, legs and feet for example – but the worst was attempting to cleanse between her legs. Rogue's hands instinctively froze on her abdomen and she became such a trembling ball of nerves that they could not proceed for almost ten minutes.

The heat of the shower slowly helped the Southerner relax enough to allow Storm to gently rinse the area, but it was short-lived.

Mere moments after Storm had completed the task, Rogue suddenly bent over the arm of the wheelchair and vomited onto the floor of the shower. Storm reached for a clean washcloth and handed it to her battered teammate as Jean wordlessly sprayed what little there was down the drain.

Wrapping towels around her shoulders and over her bare legs, the two women pushed Rogue back into the newly cleaned and awaiting recovery room. All the furniture had been replaced and new IV's and cathodes were waiting on a sterilized tray.

Jean and Storm silently assisted Rogue into a clean gown and lifted her into a fresh new bed before replacing all the devices and needles she had ripped out earlier. The tough Southern belle tried to appear unfazed as she was shifted, moved and poked, but she could not contain a few grimaces, gasps and moans as her body practically screamed in pain with every movement.

As Jean finally tucked a few warm blankets around her injured friend, Storm discretely injected a sedative into Rogue's IV line. The young woman seemed VERY unwilling to retreat into any sort of slumber, but Ororo Munroe knew that sleep was truly the best thing for her at the moment. At least until she could absorb Wolverine's healing abilities...

Thankfully it only took a few moments for the drug to take effect and Rogue was soon oblivious to everything else.

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	6. Chapter 6 - Helpless

It took another two days before Wolverine finally dragged himself through the front door.

"Logan!" Scott yelled as their leader stormed into the mansion nine days after Kitty and Rogue had been attacked. "What the hell?! Where have you been?! You're supposed to be the leader and you take off for over a week with no word to anyone!? What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Scott was advancing furiously on the older man, who simply held up a hand in a "not now" gesture.

Typically that type of behavior would not deter Cyclops in the slightest, but it was at that moment the former team leader noticed Wolverine's atrocious appearance – and smell. His clothes were singed, muddy and frayed around the ankles, arms, and parts of the torso, and he reeked of all manner of bodily odors.

Taking a step back, Scott wisely allowed Wolverine to pass by toward the elevators, hesitating only a moment when the stout Canadian pressed the down button.

"Tell me you got 'em at least," the young man finally whispered.

Logan took a long, shaky breath and promptly put his fist through the wall.

"I couldn't pick up a damn thing," his voice shook with barely contained fury as he admitted his defeat. "I hung around that place for six damn days trying to find ANYTHING that would give me a clue and I got nothin.'"

Cyclops sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "What about the other three days?" he asked as light-heartedly as he could.

"Got hit by lightning… Couple a times." Wolverine turned toward Scott's direction without making eye contact. "How's she doin'?"

"She only woke up a couple days ago," Cyclops sighed. "Storm and Jean have been keeping watch – no one else has been allowed in to see her yet. Jean said she won't speak, and her powers still haven't come back."

A strangled growl escaped Wolverine's throat as he balled up his fists. The elevator opened and Wolverine slowly stepped inside. "I was gonna take a shower and go see her, but… You wanna join me for a Level 10 instead?"

Scott gave a sad smile, but nodded. "Sure, but I'm takin' the stairs," he called as he headed for the basement. "'Cause you REEK..."

Wolverine chuckled a bit as the doors closed behind him.

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Ten days.

Ten. Days.

Ten agonizing, horrendous, drug addled, torturous days since "IT" happened…

She knew this because she was constantly listening to conversations that were carried on just down the hall from her room. There was always someone trying to see if they could say hello or bring her flowers or something. But Jean or Storm always stopped them well before they could reach her and see the sorry state she was in.

The only people she had even seen since she'd awoken three days ago were Jean and Storm, and that suited her just fine. Rogue knew that there was no reason to be nervous or afraid of the other X-Men, but she hated that they knew – they KNEW what she'd been through – and that pity would be written all over their faces when they visited. Just like it still was evident on Jean's face every time the telepath entered the room.

Storm was the only person Rogue could tolerate right now. At least the weather witch still treated her like a person and didn't try to make small talk when she was very obviously NOT in the mood to speak. So instead, she listened as one of the two women would talk quietly to potential visitors and sympathetically shoo them away.

Their responses were always the same.

"_She's not up to visitors yet… She really needs her rest right now…. She's getting stronger every day… I'm sure she'll love the flowers/chocolates/teddy bear/etc…"_

Rogue was a little surprised that no one had asked how she was dealing with… _IT_ … though. Sure, they had all asked how her wounds were healing and if she could move her shoulders yet; if she'd be up and about soon – but no one had asked about … _IT_.

The only people she had even heard mention anything related to _IT_ was Beast, Storm and Jean. Beast had asked how her sutures were healing while Jean and Storm had discussed her possible physical therapy treatments.

What she was most surprised to hear, however, was that they still had no clues as to her attackers. The whole subject made her sick enough that she would frantically push the call button every time it was mentioned, but the few snippets she'd gathered told her they knew next to nothing about the men save that there were two of them – one big, one small.

On one hand, she was grateful. If her friends didn't know the mens' identities, then they could never know the full details of what had happened. There would be no trials, no facing her attackers and no reason she'd have to relive it all.

On the other hand…

She would always worry about them coming back for her. She would always be afraid that they would want to send a stronger message by finishing the job – or worse yet, coming after another of her teammates.

Kitty had only narrowly avoided Rogue's fate when the men had abandoned the small girl at the last minute. Rogue had the advantage of using her powers to absorb Logan's healing ability – provided her powers ever came back – but Kitty would have had to live with the physical scars and reminders for the rest of her life. That is, if the petite brunette could have survived such an attack.

God knew SHE barely had…

Taking a deep breath, Rogue winced as a stabbing pain shot through her ribs. Storm had explained the extent of her many injuries, but the searing pain throughout so much of her body was explanation enough.

With the aid of the electronically adjustable hospital bed, Rogue slowly sat up a little. She flexed her toes and ankles, rolling them around to test her pain levels. So far so good. Her right ankle and lower leg still twinged with pain, but at least it wasn't broken.

Next she wiggled her fingers, splaying them wide before making a few weak fists. Testing her elbows and arms, she did a few makeshift arm curls to find that while they were still sore from being in such an awkward position for so long, they were relatively unharmed.

Wincing slightly, she then rolled her shoulders forward and back a few times before slowly checking her full range of motion. Experimenting with just one arm at a time, she lifted them up, over and sideways, noting a few small clicks and pops that hadn't been present before.

Momentarily satisfied, Rogue carefully lifted both hands over her head, taking the opportunity to stretch out her tender and underused muscles.

She took a deep, relaxing breath and gasped as her ribs protested loudly. Her whole body reacted reflexively, drawing in on itself. The sudden jerking movements, however, put unnecessary pressure on her lower extremities and Rogue instantly doubled over in pain.

Her arms instantly wrapped around her aching abdomen and she had to bite her lip from crying out. With a few small, steady breaths, the Southerner slowly forced her body to relax and tried to will the pain away. When that didn't work, she instead reached over and depressed the IV button to deliver more morphine.

Within a few minutes, the drug had kicked in, her pain had subsided, and Rogue felt herself slowly drifting back into peaceful blackness.

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As Rogue enjoyed a peaceful, drug-induced slumber, the rest of the X-Men met in the War Room.

"Do we have anything yet?" Wolverine leaned against the large round table in the center of the room.

The question was met with silence.

"Shadowcat?" the Canadian questioned gruffly as he folded his arms and looked at her expectantly.

"I uh," Kitty started, "I've looked over all available surveillance images from the mall and the surrounding buildings – the bank, the restaurants, everything – but there's no clear images of the men in the van."

The brunette tapped at her laptop for a moment until a few still images of the white van popped up on the main screen in the War Room. " As far as I can tell, they came from the south end of the mall and waited at the edge of the parking lot until one of the cars close to ours moved. There aren't any continuous video feeds of the area, just short clips every few minutes. The cameras run on a timer as the flip through all the incoming feeds, so you only get a few seconds of footage at once. But…" She pulled up two clips side by side, one showing the van at the far end of the parking lot and the other showing the vehicle pulling in next to their car.

"You can see from this that they were waiting for the perfect place and time to strike. It was definitely a planned attack and NOT random."

Wolverine nodded, "Ya did good kid. You think you can find out whether they tracked you all the way from the mansion?"

Kitty chewed her lip and sighed as she closed her laptop. "I've been trying, but most of the cameras from the mall to the mansion are government controlled. They're uh, a little harder to ... access."

The leader grunted with a small smile as both Beast and Scott winced. "Lemme put in a call to Fury. He can probably get you LEGAL access to those cameras, but I'll need some leverage." Wolverine then turned to Beast.

"Hank, you got anything on that compound Rogue was injected with yet?"

Dr. McCoy cleared his throat as he removed his glasses, placing them gently on the table in front of him. "I'm afraid all of my contacts have had the same answers – no one knows anything about this substance and it's barely traceable as is. I've taken daily samples of Rogue's blood and while it appears that the chemicals have all but left her bloodstream, the effects thereof are ever present."

Bobby scratched his head from his seat next to Kitty. "Uhh…"

Shadowcat rolled her eyes at him. "It means the bad stuff is gone, but she's still powerless."

"Oh, right, I knew that," the boy waved his hand at Kitty as if he wasn't entirely clueless.

Beast cleared his throat again. "Furthermore, I've extracted DNA samples, and it does not appear that her gene sequences – particularly that of the X-Gene – have been damaged or changed. The drug appears to act as more of a neurotoxin, merely blocking her abilities from usage rather than destroying them. "

Kitty snuck a glance at Bobby, but the blonde was more interested in his shoes at the moment, so she simply shrugged and decided not to interpret this time.

"A neurotoxin, huh?" Wolverine began pacing the room, running his hand through his disheveled hair as he considered the possibilities.

"Jean," he finally stopped close to the redhead. "Do you think you might be able to go into her head and turn something like that OFF?"

The telepath chewed her lip for a moment. "I, I don't know. Honestly, I doubt it. If it's a physical condition, rather than a psychological one, I don't think my telepathy would help at all. I would need to telekinetically remove the problem, but since we can't really pinpoint its location, I don't think there's anything I can do."

"Right… Thought it might be worth a shot askin' anyhow," the Canadian acknowledged as he began pacing again. "Any luck gettin' into Rogue's mind yet?"

Jean shook her head. "No," she replied quickly. "Rogue's mental blocks are formidable, even while she's sleeping. I haven't been able to get anywhere near her memories of that day, and I'm afraid if I dig any deeper or push any harder, I could cause her even more damage."

"Storm?" Wolverine turned to the weather witch with a smidgeon of hope in his eyes. "She talkin' to you yet?"

With a sigh, Ororo shook her head slowly. "I'm afraid she still hasn't said a word since waking. She communicates with me, but never verbally and never in regards to what happened that day."

Frustrated, Wolverine cracked his knuckles, itching to tear into something, but miraculously keeping his claws in check.

"Kurt? Please tell me Wanda knows something?"

Everyone turned hopefully to the blue, demonic looking mutant, but his yellow eyes held only sadness. "Nien. She knows nothing of the attack or the chemical. She was very concerned and said she can send a healer if we wish for one."

"We'll keep that in mind – I imagine Rogue'll be itchin' t' get out of that hospital bed pretty soon," Wolverine replied with a small smile. The others grinned slightly as well as they considered the Southern girl's fierce temper and small shred of patience.

"Sadly," Beast chimed in, killing the slightly uplifted mood, "she's in no condition to go anywhere without the aid of such a healer. If she does want to leave the Med Bay, we will definitely need to take Wanda up on her offer."

"We shall leave the decision of a healer to Rogue, herself," Storm commanded quickly. There was no room for argument in her tone as she spoke to the group. "She has been through enough without having others invading her mind and body in a place where she should feel safe and protected. I shall ask her if she would like us to send for this healer, but it must be her choice."

After a moment's silence, Wolverine stopped and stood before the group once more, his arms folded stoically.

"Agreed. But we don't even know if this healer will do her any good or not. This crap they injected her with might block other non-medical means of helping her too. The fact is we ain't gonna be able t' really help her until we know more about the men who did this. Like it or not, we gotta get Rogue to talk to us. We gotta know exactly what she knows."

Storm stood suddenly, her eyes flashing white. "You would ask her to relive everything in the hopes that we MIGHT find her attackers?! Logan…" she trailed off, casting an uneasy glance toward Kitty and Bobby.

"I know, 'Ro, I know. I don't like it any better than you do, but it's gotta be done. She's gotta try to remember everything she can about that day or …" Wolverine trailed off for a moment, trying to collect himself, "Or we may never catch who did this and undo it all."

"Logan, we all know this can never be undone…" Ororo spoke softly as she cast him a sad glance.

"Well, gee, I don't know," Bobby piped in, shattering the solemn mood. "Once we catch these guys, they'll give us the cure – or at least tell us what they shot her up with – and then Logan can heal her ribs and stuff and poof, undone! I mean, this is Rogue we're talking about. It's not like taking a beating is going to really faze her. I bet once she's got her powers back and this crap is out of her system for good, she'll be back to normal in no time!"

The others smiled encouragingly at Bobby's optimism, but for Jean, Logan, Beast and Storm, their inside knowledge of Rogue's true condition kept their faces somber.

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Thanks to Chica De Los Ojos Café, whose enthusiasm about my return to fanfics and this story reminded me to update! Sometimes I just need a good kick in the pants. ;-)


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